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Independent and neutral with regard to all political and religious orientations, Tolerance.ca® aims to promote awareness of the major democratic principles on which tolerance is based.

Rappers talk homosexuality in hip-hop

Rap legends spoke out about the controversy surrounding the admission of love for another man by up-and-coming singer Frank Ocean. Ice-T and other rappers were in London on Thursday (July 19) for the premiere of his directorial documentary debut "Something for Nothing: The Art of Rap". Ocean, part of the rap collective Odd Future, recently revealed online that his first love was a man. In a posting on his Tumblr page earlier this month, the U.S. artist wrote: "4 summers ago. I met somebody. I was 19 years old. He was too." Later on he wrote: "It was my first love." The admission of same-sex attraction is seen as groundbreaking for the world of hip hop. At the premiere, reaction was mixed. Ice-T, Melle Mel, and Wu -Tang Clan members Raekwon and Ghostface Killah spoke out. SOUNDBITE: Rapper, Documentary Filmmaker And Actor Ice-T, saying (English): "My thing is right now, when you're dealing with pop music, it doesn't really matter. I mean, it's not like Ice Cube came out and said he was gay. I hope people buy his music because it's good, not because they want to support a gay artist. I don't think it's what he wants either." SOUNDBITE: Rapper Melle Mel, saying (English): "To me, a person's sexuality is neither here nor there, I don't believe in a gay athlete, I believe in an athlete that just so happens to be gay." SOUNDBITE: Rapper Raekwon Of Wu-Tang Clan, saying (English): "It's irrelevant how we judge people when it comes to judging but at the same token, as long as that person is happy within themselves, that's what it's all about." SOUNDBITE: Rapper Ghostface Killah Of Wu-Tang Clan, saying (English): "Listen, Frank Ocean is Frank Ocean, I don't even know that dude but if he's coming out of the closest, then come out man, I don't have anything to do with that. God is the judger of all judges, you feel me?" Whether Ocean's actions is a revelation for rap isn't certain but it's created a buzz in the music industry and online. Ice-T's film "Something for Nothing: The Art of Rap" opens in British and Irish cinemas on Friday (July 20). Cindy Martin, Reuters

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